Dusk and Summer
by HazelAuror70
Summary: A little songfic/drabble with Draco & Astoria after the war.


Draco POV: (Dusk and Summer- Dashboard Confessional)

_She smiled in a big way, the way a girl like that smiles  
>When the world is hers and she held your eyes<br>Out in the breezeway down by the shore in the lazy summer  
><em> 

We walked quietly along the shore, our fingers softly brushing. The only sound we could hear was the waves gently overlapping and out steady breathes. Once or twice she looked up at me, a smile radiating on her face and I couldn't help but grin back. Her eyes met mine and glinted with emotion that words weren't enough to express.

_And she pulled you in, and she bit your lip, and she made you hers  
>She looked deep into you as you lay together quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer<em>

We sat facing the water, lost in our own thoughts of one another. A small tug on my arm was all it took to close the distance between us. Her arms entwined behind my neck and mine encircled her waist. I leaned in and her eyes were already closed, expectant. I waited a minute to burn her into my mind, so I could never forget. Our lips met and she was everything at once. I tasted the ocean on her, felt her fire as she bit my lip and I could only give myself to all that she was.

I let her surround me and her gaze burned into my soul. She cut me bare and her eyes never left mine, seeing me for who I was. We didn't speak, we didn't have to. The summer air was heavy, I couldn't breathe. She took my breath away.

_But you've already lost  
>When you only had barely enough to hang on<em>

It could have been days, months, years we stayed like that. I could feel her drifting off into her own world, one that I could never penetrate. Her eyes half closed, a small smile gracing her lips. A part of me wanted her to confide in me with all her secrets. All those secrets I could never know. But for now, this was enough. Just to be here with her was enough to hang on.

_And she combed your hair, and she kissed your teeth  
>And she made you better than you'd been before<em>

Her fingers ran through my hair, as she whispered in my ear. Every line interrupted with only a kiss. With her, I felt whole. She was the voice to the melody I strummed, unaware of the music she made in me. Before her, I just lived. With her, I was alive.

_She told you bad things you wished you could change in the lazy summer  
><em>

Somewhere in between, we began the lyrics to our song. We spoke of everything and nothing at once. I glimpsed at her secrets when her voice would not quiver as she told me of things I wished I could change.

_And she told you, laughing down to her core, so she would not cry as she lay in your lap  
>She said "nobody here can live forever, quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer"<br>_  
>She was so strong, always facing the world with a smile. It was my turn to whisper and I did. I told her of everything beautiful that I knew. I told her she was beautiful, and she was. In that moment, nothing else could compare. We remembered things that happened years and years ago as I told her stories that had her laughing. Her eyes still sparkled when she looked into my soul. She said "Nobody here can live forever, quiet in the grasp of dusk and summer." I closed my eyes and wished she was lying.<p>

_But you've already lost  
>When you only had barely enough to hang on<em>

I could never know everything about her. There was that part of her that she wouldn't share with me. Not with anyone and I both admired and resented her for it. But wasn't I the same? We both had secrets of our own. Mine were of the war, hers? Who knew. Yet, what I did have was never enough. I wanted to be the one she would always come to in happiness and sorrow. I wanted to give her everything I had. I only hoped it was enough.

_She said, "no one is alone the way you are alone"  
>And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known<br>_

She had a way of seeing the truth behind lies and carefully woven webs. Ironic for a girl who had so many secrets of her own. We were quiet and she said "no one is alone the way you are alone". I nodded into her neck as I held her against my chest. It was a lonely place after the battle was over and everything had blown over. Somewhere in between, people had forgotten who Draco Malfoy was. She knew me better than I knew myself but she had one thing wrong. I could never be alone when she was with me.

But the moments were slipping by. The sun was almost down, and I felt as if we had lived a hundred years and a second all at once. I regretted not holding on to her longer, tighter, as we got up slowly, bodies still entwined. I pressed her small hand to my lips and held her close, swaying with the breeze. If only I had known.

_Some things tie your life together, slender threads and things to treasure  
>Days like that should last and last and last<em>

When I looked at her, I could see every day we had spent together. Every laugh we shared, every fight, each time I forgot how much she meant to me until now. I longed for those days back, where days went on and on and the sun never set.

_But you've already lost  
>When you only had barely enough of her to hang on<em>

We started walking back, side by side. Our whispers faded until the sound of the water was once again the music of our thoughts. With every step, I felt her slipping away until all I had was our fingertips. But it was enough, barely enough, of Astoria Greengrass to hang on.

**A/N: Reviews would be fantastic! This is only my second fanfic!**


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